Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The last 25 years saw an explosion in research about the role of intelligence in important life outcomes. Not that psychologists were not aware of the importance of intelligence before, but the publication of Herrnesting and Murray’s (1994) “the bell curve” drew also the attention of other social scientists, particularly economists, as well as the attention of the general public, to the role of intelligence in modern society. In the beginning, the ensuing debate, focused on the role of intelligence versus socio-economic background (see, for example, Fraser, 2008, the “the bell curve wars”), but recently the focus switched to a discussion about the relative role of intelligence versus personality. This discussion has significant implications. It has theoretical implications for our basic understanding of the human condition and the structure of society, and it has practical implications for social and economic policy.

We are looking for papers that deal with one of the following topics:

• Papers that compare the predictive validity of intelligence and personality (both broadly defined) on critical life outcomes such as occupational success, both extrinsic (e.g., pay) and intrinsic (e.g., job satisfaction, burnout), social functioning (e.g., crime, divorce, civic participation), health outcomes (e.g., health behavior, mortality), fertility, and more.
• Papers that compare the processes by which intelligence, in conjunction with personality, and possibly other variables (e.g., socio-economic background) affect important life-outcomes (e.g., mediating and moderating effects).
• Papers that investigate the reverse causality effects between personality, intelligence and important life outcomes, e.g., how life outcomes such as social status, health, job complexity, and poverty, might affect intelligence, cognitive functioning and personality?
• Theoretical papers that seek to establish novel theoretical contributions to our understanding of interrelations between intelligence, personality and important life outcomes.
• Review papers that summarize the body of existing research and provide new and original insights into the role of intelligence versus personality in important life outcomes.
• Papers that discuss how conceptualization and measurement of intelligence and personality might influence our understanding of their joint effect on important life outcomes.
• We are also open to papers that take a critical view of the role of intelligence and personality in predicting life outcomes and/or discuss other factors that can explain observed effects of intelligence and personality on important life outcomes.

Prof. Dr. Yoav Ganzach
Dr. Konrad Kulikowski
Topic Editors

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Behavioral Sciences behavsci	2.5	2.6	2011	28.7 Days	CHF 2200
Education Sciences education	2.5	4.8	2011	29.8 Days	CHF 1800
Journal of Intelligence jintelligence	2.8	2.8	2013	25.8 Days	CHF 2600

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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All Behavioral Sciences Education Sciences J. Intell.

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10 pages, 297 KiB  

Open AccessEditorial

The Six Challenges for Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes Research: An Introduction to the Topic

by Konrad Kulikowski and Yoav Ganzach

J. Intell. 2024, 12(3), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence12030035 - 18 Mar 2024

Viewed by 4946

Abstract

Understanding how personality [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

17 pages, 396 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Has Cognitive Ability Become More Important for Education and the Labor Market? A Comparison of the Project Talent and 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Cohorts

by Gary Neil Marks

J. Intell. 2023, 11(8), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11080169 - 21 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2918

Abstract

Modernization and meritocratic theories contend that with modernization, socioeconomic background (SES) becomes less important for educational and socioeconomic attainments, while cognitive ability becomes more important. However, the evidence is mixed. This study investigates if the effects of SES and cognitive ability on educational [...] Read more.

Modernization and meritocratic theories contend that with modernization, socioeconomic background (SES) becomes less important for educational and socioeconomic attainments, while cognitive ability becomes more important. However, the evidence is mixed. This study investigates if the effects of SES and cognitive ability on educational and labor market outcomes have changed in the US by comparing two longitudinal cohort studies: the 1960 Project Talent and the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. For all outcomes—grades-at-school, educational and occupational attainment, and income—cognitive ability clearly has stronger effects than a composite and broad measure of SES. The effects of cognitive ability for grades-at-school and income are notably stronger in the more recent cohort, whereas its effects on educational and occupational attainment are similar. SES effects, net of ability, for educational and occupational attainment are only moderate and for school grades and income are very small (β < 0.10). However, for each outcome SES effects are stronger in the more recent NLSY79 cohort. This is attributed to ability being a stronger influence on the educational and socioeconomic attainments of NLSY79 parents compared to Project Talent parents. These analyses suggest that in the US, cognitive ability has long been an important, and SES a much weaker, influence on educational and subsequent socioeconomic outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

9 pages, 286 KiB  

Open AccessOpinion

Intelligence, Personality, and the Prediction of Life Outcomes: Borghans et al. (2016) vs. Zisman and Ganzach (2022) Debate

by Lazar Stankov

J. Intell. 2023, 11(5), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11050095 - 15 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3212

Abstract

This article examines the psychological measures employed in studies that compared the predictive validity of personality and intelligence for important life outcomes and came to divergent conclusions. At least some discrepant findings can be accounted for by the fine-grained analysis of measures employed [...] Read more.

This article examines the psychological measures employed in studies that compared the predictive validity of personality and intelligence for important life outcomes and came to divergent conclusions. At least some discrepant findings can be accounted for by the fine-grained analysis of measures employed in the assessment of intelligence and personality. The use of Big Five measures of personality traits for predicting life outcomes appear to be poorly supported—other ways of assessing personality need to be explored. Methods used to study cause–effect relationships in non-experimental studies will need to be employed in future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

18 pages, 986 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Time Use and Cognitive Achievement among Adolescents in China: Depression Symptoms as Mediators

by Xiaojie Cao and Xinqiao Liu

J. Intell. 2023, 11(5), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11050088 - 6 May 2023

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4292

Abstract

Everyone’s time is limited, and there is competition between different aspects of time use; this requires comprehensive consideration of the effects of different aspects of time use on cognitive achievement in adolescents. This study uses a dataset of 11,717 students from a nationally [...] Read more.

Everyone’s time is limited, and there is competition between different aspects of time use; this requires comprehensive consideration of the effects of different aspects of time use on cognitive achievement in adolescents. This study uses a dataset of 11,717 students from a nationally representative large-scale survey project conducted in 2013 to 2014 to clarify the relationship between time use (including working on homework, playing sports, surfing the Internet, watching TV, and sleeping) and cognitive achievement among Chinese adolescents, and explores the mediating role of depression symptoms in the relationship between time use and cognitive achievement. The results of the correlation analysis show that the average daily time spent on homework, playing sports, and sleeping is significantly positively correlated with cognitive achievement (p < 0.01), while time spent surfing the Internet and watching TV are significantly negatively correlated with cognitive achievement (p < 0.01). The results of the mediating effect model show that depression symptoms play a mediating role in the relationship between time use and cognitive achievement among Chinese adolescents. Specifically, time spent playing sports (indirect effect = 0.008, p < 0.001) and sleeping (indirect effect = 0.015, p < 0.001) have a positive effect on cognitive achievement when using depression symptoms as mediators; time spent on homework (indirect effect = −0.004, p < 0.001), surfing the Internet (indirect effect = −0.002, p = 0.046), and watching TV (indirect effect = −0.005, p < 0.001) have a negative effect on cognitive achievement when using depression symptoms as mediators. This study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between time use and cognitive achievement among Chinese adolescents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

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17 pages, 874 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Scientific Intelligence: Recognising It to Nurture It

by Debra McGregor and Sarah Frodsham

J. Intell. 2023, 11(4), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11040060 - 27 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4185

Abstract

Successful scientists need to think carefully about the particular aspect of the world around them they are investigating. They build on what is known in their area of science to identify how they might examine the issue or problem they are concerned with [...] Read more.

Successful scientists need to think carefully about the particular aspect of the world around them they are investigating. They build on what is known in their area of science to identify how they might examine the issue or problem they are concerned with to offer further insights. Through investigating natural phenomena, they can solve problems and communicate new ways of looking at the world. Their work serves to address global and societal challenges and often offers improved ways of living. The ways that scientists’ work can have implications for educational processes designed to prepare would-be scientists or scientifically aware citizens of the future. Eliciting reflections from experienced scientists recounting how they came to develop their scientific intellect, expertise and problem-solving know-how is useful to inform science education. This article reports on an aspect of a larger project involving 24 scientists specialising in biological or physical science research from Higher Education Institutions, located in either Manchester, Oxford or London. The study adopts a retrospective phenomenographical methodology and applies two fresh theoretical perspectives to eight in-depth interviews with professional scientists working in university departments involved in ground-breaking research. Conversations with the scientists were framed to explore the nature and extent of formal and informal learning influences affecting the development of their inventiveness and expertise in becoming scientists. The reified perspectives collated here show how a range of experiences have afforded expert scientists the opportunity to apply their intellectual capabilities. These kinds of demonstrable abilities have enabled them to scientifically contribute to being able to solve real-world problems. Additionally, a cross-case analysis of scientists’ reported learning experiences could inform science education policy and practice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

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13 pages, 999 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Can Intelligence Affect Alcohol-, Smoking-, and Physical Activity-Related Behaviors? A Mendelian Randomization Study

by Hansen Li, Xing Zhang, Xinyue Zhang, Zhenhuan Wang, Siyuan Feng and Guodong Zhang

J. Intell. 2023, 11(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11020029 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3368

Abstract

People with high levels of intelligence are more aware of risk factors, therefore choosing a healthier lifestyle. This assumption seems reasonable, but is it true? Previous studies appear to agree and disagree. To cope with the uncertainty, we designed a mendelian randomization (MR) [...] Read more.

People with high levels of intelligence are more aware of risk factors, therefore choosing a healthier lifestyle. This assumption seems reasonable, but is it true? Previous studies appear to agree and disagree. To cope with the uncertainty, we designed a mendelian randomization (MR) study to examine the causal effects of genetically proxied intelligence on alcohol-, smoking-, and physical activity (PA)-related behaviors. We obtained genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets concerning these variables from separate studies or biobanks and used inverse-variance weighted (IVW) or MR-Egger estimator to evaluate the causal effects according to an MR protocol. The MR-Egger intercept test, MR-PRESSO, and funnel plots were employed for horizontal pleiotropy diagnosis. The Steiger test (with reliability test), Cochran’s Q test, MR-PRESSO, and leave-one-out method were employed for sensitivity analysis. We found significant or potential effects of intelligence on alcohol dependence (OR = 0.749, p = 0.003), mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol (OR = 0.814, p = 0.009), smoking (OR = 0.585, p = 0.005), and smoking cessation (OR = 1.334, p = 0.001). Meanwhile, we found significant or potential effects on walking duration (B = −0.066, p < 0.001), walking frequency (B = −0.055, p = 0.031), moderate PA frequency (B = −0.131, p < 0.001), and vigorous PA frequency (B = −0.070, p = 0.001), but all in a negative direction. In conclusion, our findings reinforce some existing knowledge, indicate the complexity of the health impacts of human intelligence, and underline the value of smoking and alcohol prevention in less intelligent populations. Given the existing limitations in this study, particularly the potential reverse causality in some estimations, re-examinations are warranted in future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

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13 pages, 247 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Patterns of Anti-Social and Risky Behaviour in the Millennium Cohort Study—What Are the Roles of SES (Socio-Economic Status), Cognitive Ability and Personality?

by Michael O’Connell

Behav. Sci. 2023, 13(1), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13010046 - 4 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2701

Abstract

Data from the Millennium Cohort Study (UK) were examined to assess the correlates of anti-social and risky behaviour among adolescents. Over 10,000 seventeen-year-olds were asked about their participation in anti-social or risky behaviours. For SES (socio-economic status), the survey’s details around household income, [...] Read more.

Data from the Millennium Cohort Study (UK) were examined to assess the correlates of anti-social and risky behaviour among adolescents. Over 10,000 seventeen-year-olds were asked about their participation in anti-social or risky behaviours. For SES (socio-economic status), the survey’s details around household income, and the educational attainment and occupational status of respondents’ parents were used. A latent measure was extracted from assessments of cognitive ability. Personality measures—the ‘Big Five’—were included, as was a composite measure of hyperactivity. SES and cognitive ability were very weakly associated with anti-social and risky behaviour, while personality measures, and hyperactivity were more strongly linked. Hyperactivity, Agreeableness and Extraversion were the most important measures linked to a measure of anti-social and risky activities (ASRA) and its subscales. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Personality, Intelligence, Cognitive Skills, and Life Outcomes)

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